Charles Gane designs private cottages across Ontario's cottage country — one at a time, drawn by hand, working with you from the first sketch to the finished build.
Muskoka is cottage country's original address, and the standards here are exacting — lake associations, township setbacks, builders who've seen every kind of design fail on the rock. Charles Gane brings 40 years of practice to a Muskoka site, including 27 years as a founding principal of CORE Architects in Toronto, where he led more than 160 projects before turning his attention to private cottages. He is registered with the OAA and AAPEI, and he designed and built his own family's cottage on Monument Channel, Georgian Bay — so he works from a builder's understanding of what actually survives an Ontario winter on the Shield, not just what renders well. Every cottage is still drawn by hand, and Charles takes on only one project at a time: no junior staff drafting behind the scenes, no handoff between the person who meets you at the lake and the person holding the pencil. If you're planning a new build, a renovation, or a tear-down-and-rebuild on Muskoka granite, Charles serves the region and would be glad to talk through your site.
Every cottage begins as a hand drawing — the slow, considered way — before a single line is committed to a screen.
Charles designed and built his own family's cottage on Georgian Bay. He designs yours to the same standard he holds his own to.
Condo-grade rigour applied to a cottage: durable materials, honest structure, and a design tuned to the rock, the water and the light.
We start with a call about your land, your family, and how you want to live at the lake. No commitment — just a real discussion.
Charles studies the site — rock, water, sun, trees — and draws the first concepts by hand, then shares a fee proposal and scope.
Design development and drawings, then support through construction with your builder, all the way to the finished cottage.
Architect's fees are usually structured either as a percentage of the construction budget or as a fixed fee for a defined scope. After an initial conversation about your site and goals, Charles provides a clear, written fee proposal — so you know what you're committing to before any design work begins.
Yes — Muskoka is one of the areas Charles serves, alongside Muskoka, Georgian Bay, Haliburton, the Kawarthas, and the Greater Toronto Area.
Both. Charles takes on new custom cottages, renovations and additions, and tear-down-and-rebuild projects in Muskoka and throughout Ontario's cottage country.
It varies with scope and approvals, but most cottages move from first sketches through design and permit drawings over several months, followed by construction. Remote and waterfront sites can add time for access and approvals — Charles will set realistic expectations early.
Yes. Charles works alongside your builder through construction, and can suggest builders experienced with cottage and Shield-site construction if you don't have one yet.
Tell Charles about your site and your idea — he reads and answers every enquiry himself.
Discuss your cottage project